Let the Pieces Fall
by cursedlonelyheart
Summary: "She was just so charming and lovely, and she was giving out all the wrong signs. And she's dense and too trusting and lets her guard down around him all the time." AU. Lucy gets her heart broken and Gray is determined to wait for her. Oneshot.


**A/N: **_Spur-of-the-moment fanfic. AU. Might be slightly OOC. (I hope not)_

* * *

**Let the Pieces Fall**

"I'm sorry. Frankly, it was stupid on my part. I'm glad you stopped me, Thank you." Lucy said, head bowed.

Gray sighed. He was being thanked at but somehow he was feeling irritated. This girl, how hard did she think it was not to give in to the temptation last night? When she was wasted, and crying and asking for comfort from the man who would practically do anything for her. She had truly tested his self-control.

Last night, Lucy cried her heart out in the hotel bar, having found out that her boyfriend had been cheating on her. While Natsu and their other classmates chose to go hunt the guy down, he chose to escort her to her room and help her lie down. She'd been drinking with Cana who told her that the best medicine to forget was alcohol and was completely wasted by the time they were finished. In her room, she had hugged him, asked him if she was attractive (to which he had blushingly answered, "of course!") and pleaded to prove it to her by sleeping with her. He had swiftly and firmly refused. She was drunk and hurt, the worst combination.

He held her hand until she fell asleep though and ended up sleeping on the floor beside her bed.

"Forget it," he dismissed. "I'm glad it was me, if it had been any other guy..." he trailed off. The other guys were also good, in their own ways, but he could count the number of guys who would've resisted her pleas in one hand. And he wasn't even sure how long their resistance would last against the Lucy of last night: Beautiful yet heartbroken. No, rather, it was actually quite the opposite, heartbroken yet beautiful. Like the heroine of some tragic fairy tale.

He realized that she'd been staring at him for some time now without saying a word. Her gaze dropped to her feet when their eyes met. _Now what?_

*growl~~*

The awkward silence was broken by an unladylike sound coming from her hungry stomach. Come to think of it, he didn't think he saw her touch any food last night. Only wine. No wonder she was so wasted, drinking on an empty stomach.

"Breakfast?" he asked, amused at the sheepish expression on her face.

She laughed. "Lunch actually," she said, pointing at the alarm clock on her bedside table. It was now 12:04 in the afternoon. Damn, there goes his morning.

The tension dispelled, the casual atmosphere between them was back. Even though she was crying so much last night, she was quick to bounce back and get over things. _That bastard doesn't deserve her tears at all, maybe I should go and join The Hunt after all..._

"Should we order room service or would you like to go down?" he asked, referring to the restaurant in the hotel. It didn't really matter to him that's why he asked her.

"How about we go out to eat?" she asked. "We came to Milan, after all. It'd be a waste to stay cooped up in the hotel!"

He couldn't help it, one of his eyebrows rose in question. "This is from the girl who wouldn't join the tour yesterday because _there's too many people, it's hot and all churches are the same anyway_," he repeated her excuses.

"Well, they are!" she laughed at the way he imitated her tone. She didn't really talked like that, right? "Anyway, how about it?" she said bringing it back on the topic on hand.

"No problem," A stroll sounds lovely. He'd take what he can get. Once her girl friends get hold of her, he probably wouldn't be able to spend time like this with her again.

"Then, lets."

* * *

The stroll turn out to be enjoyable. The city was bustling with activity, with a constant stream of people coming and going in all directions. They noticed that there were a lot of students, college or maybe even high school, probably there to enjoy there vacation like them.

But as expected of the country of romance, couples filled the streets. Young or old, they walked while holding hands, gazing into each others eyes without care for their surroundings.

_I wonder if we look like a couple too?_ he wondered, before shaking his head to dismiss his thoughts. How shameful of him, the girl had just had her heart broken last night. If he took advantage of her because of that, that would make him the worst.

"Hey, let's go over there. It smells good," she tugged his hand and pulled him to one of the stalls selling sandwiches. She converse lively with the vendor in fluent Italian and ordered two different sandwiches, then after some careful consideration, handed him one.

"I thought you were hungry. Why are you only eating a sandwich?" he asked, incredulous. Or maybe this was just an appetizer for her?

"Hmm...I dunno. I guess I'm not that hungry anymore," she said after some thought. "Anyway, how does yours taste? Mine is a bit spicy," she offered him the sandwich to bite.

_T-T-That would be...!_

He shook his head and told her that he was not good with spicy things, which was true, so it didn't sound like an excuse. He took a bite from _his_ sandwich.

"I-It's a bit sour and creamy," he told her, not actually tasting anything, his tongue feeling like it's going numb. But he knew she didn't like sour things so this should safeguard him from her asking to have a bite.

_Why am I feeling like I should protect myself from her? _Like he was safeguarding his virtue instead of the other way around.

He knew why though.

She was just so charming and lovely, and she was giving out all the wrong signs. And she's dense and too trusting and lets her guard down around him too much.

And he loved her and now that she was free again, he wanted himself to be in her heart this time. And if he did not stop himself, he was going to take advantage of her heartbreak for sure.

_So complicated._

"What's wrong?" she asked, cocking her head to the side in an adorable display of cuteness.

He smiled wryly, tired of arguing with himself why he should not be enjoying his time with her.

"Nothing." he said, realizing that it's true. "Absolutely nothing_."_

_Let the pieces fall where they may._

He looked at the sandwich in her hand and then to her lips made shiny with lip gloss.

He smiled.

"Let me take a bite out of that sandwich after all."

* * *

**A/N: **_Sorry for the wrong use of idioms, but I like the sound of 'pieces' better than 'chips'. Don't hate me for that~~_


End file.
